Security cameras and electrical fixtures are commonly installed on the interiors and exteriors of buildings. Security cameras are frequently installed to provide monitoring of property against intrusion, vandalism, or theft. Electrical fixtures, such as lighting fixtures, are also frequently installed in similar locations. Electrical fixtures typically run on house current and therefore all electrical connections to the fixtures must be contained within a closed electrical box that is in compliance with local electrical codes. Although most security cameras are powered by 24 volts, many jurisdictions now require that the electrical connections also be contained within a closed electrical box that meets the local electrical code. Conventional electrical boxes are typically not adaptable to accepting either a security camera or an electrical fixture, which therefore forces the installer to purchase an electrical box that is specifically adapted to either the security camera or to the electrical fixture. It would therefore be beneficial to provide an electrical box assembly that was adaptable to use with both security cameras and electrical fixtures.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/456,156, which includes common ownership and a common inventor with the present invention, disclosed a one-piece nonmetallic electrical box assembly for mounting and supporting a security camera or electrical fixture and to overcome some of the deficiencies of the aforementioned conventional electrical boxes. The electrical box assembly disclosed therein was universal in nature and could be adapted for use with a wide variety of security cameras or electrical fixtures.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/462,027, which also includes common ownership and a common inventor with the present invention, disclosed an electrical box assembly for those locations in which the local electrical code does not permit nonmetallic electrical boxes. The disclosure included a metallic electrical box and a nonmetallic trim piece for installing an electrical fixture or a security camera on a wall or ceiling.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/592,811, which also includes common ownership and a common inventor with the present invention, disclosed a camera mounting assembly including a mounting bar and adapter plate that enabled the mounting of a security camera to any conventional 3-inch or 4-inch electrical box or 2″×3″ device box in addition to the electrical box disclosed in the aforementioned patent applications. By extending the mounting bar outside the walls of an electrical box the mounting bar and adapter plate enabled the mounting of substantially all commercially sold camera housings.
Although the parent applications provided novel solutions to mounting security cameras and electrical devices, they utilized electrical boxes that were mounted within the walls thus requiring in a new work situation that a hole be formed in the wall to accommodate the electrical box. What is needed therefore is an electrical box that can be surface-mounted to a myriad of surfaces, both indoors and outdoors, and provide an attractive and unobtrusive visible mounting platform for security cameras, electrical fixtures and the like.